While there is a lot going on in the digital landscape, changes in media organization structures, and new applications for iPhones and others, I was just thinking, what I really need, or perhaps would like to see as a digital media device. No not a Kindle, or HD TV, though both would be nice. I think I speak for many when I say the kitchen is the center of my house. No, not physically the center, but where a majority of activity happens. And it is there that the family calendar is kept in an attempt to keep us organized and on schedule. Add to that pieces of loose paper nearby, recording upcoming shopping lists for the supermarket, Costco, and Target. Lists get written and rewritten, and checked against the schedule for other needs like birthday presents, drinks for one of the kid's teams, and so on. And of course there is always coordinating the home schedule with the work schedule. And all this is done the old fashioned way.
So what I want is someone to invent for me a device that is about the size of a calendar, that can hang on the wall, or sit on the counter, wireless compatible and networked to the home PC and printer and synced with my cell phone. It would be a calendar, list maker, and web device. Easy to write on and have my handwriting converted to text. Mobile devices can sync to it and download information like new dates or additions to the shopping list as well as upload the same. No more printing out the list when your phone can hold it for you. Sure include some nifty apps like a calorie counter, recipe keeper, or calculator, but its primary duty remains to organize the home. Press a button, look at the month or week, or that day. Add alarms to remind you not to forget to sign a kid's permission slip or pack a lunch. And when the screen is not being used, let the screen saver rotate through the family pictures. The key remains organization, connectivity, and information.
I'd take down the family calendar and replace it in an instant. Could it do more; perhaps, but I have other devices to watch TV or play videos. Oops, gotta run, the calendar says to pick up my daughter from art class and then take my son to guitar. Nice to be reminded, nice to have it on the calendar so I can schedule other thing around it.
